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The NCAA News -- August 2, 1999

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New NCAA national office is a facility built to meet the membership's needs

BY DAVID PICKLE
STAFF WRITER

The NCAA gained a head start on the new millennium July 27 when the Association opened the doors to its new national office in Indianapolis.

"This is an exciting day for the NCAA," said NCAA President Cedric W. Dempsey. "We are moving our base of operations into a world-class facility that will benefit the membership for years to come."

The new national office will be very different from the Association's previous homes in the Kansas City area. Much more than in the past, the office will be a full-service building for the membership, which will benefit from new technology, expanded meeting space, improved access to air travel and greater proximity to large hotels.

The move will bring most of the membership geographically closer to the national office since about two-thirds of the NCAA's membership is located east of the Mississippi River.

The four-story, 140,000 square-foot building is located in White River State Park on the west side of downtown Indianapolis. Nearby attractions include the RCA Dome, Victory Field (baseball), the IMAX Theater, the National Institute for Fitness and Sports, the Indianapolis Zoo, the Tennis Center, and the Eiteljorg Museum of American Indians and Western Art. Another neighbor will be the Indiana Museum, a major new structure under construction that is to be complete by early 2002.

The National Federation of State High School Associations will join the NCAA in early 2000, occupying the former Acme-Evans Superintendents Building adjacent to the NCAA site. A walkway will connect the two buildings.

The NCAA Hall of Champions -- vastly enhanced from its previous incarnation -- will open in conjunction with the men's Final Four in March 2000. The 35,000-foot state-of-the-art facility will feature interactive elements that highlight student-athlete programs, championships, the competitive spirit of intercollegiate athletics, and the history and mission of the NCAA.

In short, the NCAA will be part of an education, entertainment and athletics complex, all linked to a vibrant downtown area.

"Anybody who visits our office or the Hall of Champions will immediately understand the appeal of the new site," Dempsey said. "In every sense, this is a partnership with Indianapolis that will work to the advantage of both the NCAA and the city."

The look of the building -- designed by renowned architect Michael Graves -- will reflect the setting with an open, light appearance.

"This will be a very different feel," said Frank E. Marshall, who has served for the last two years as NCAA 2000 project manager. "The first feature that people will see when they enter the office building will be John Martin's mural, which was in the previous Hall of Champions. The office will be open, lit, colorful and less formal than the previous building. It won't have a law office feel."

To that end, most workspace in the building will be without floor-to-ceiling walls. The space around the windows generally will be a common area, permitting more light into the interior than in the current facility. Many vertical surfaces will be composed of glass, permitting light to penetrate throughout each of the four floors.

The building has two signature features: a four-story atrium on the front (south) side of the facility and a dramatic barreled ceiling over the fourth floor.

The project has been a cooperative effort among the NCAA, the state of Indiana, private business and the Lilly Foundation.

The building, which is owned by the state, will be leased back to the Association at a cost of $1 annually for the next 30 years.

After that, the NCAA has two 10-year options on whether to renew the lease.

The NCAA currently pays $1.7 million annually in base rent, plus another $500,000 in annual taxes.

The state of Indiana contributed $29 million toward the project and the Lilly Foundation $10 million. Private Indianapolis interests contributed another $15 million.

"This is a story of commitments made and commitments met," said Daniel Boggan Jr., NCAA chief operating officer.

Association commitments have included furnishing the building, providing technological and infrastructure upgrades, and most expenses for relocating the staff.

The financing of those and other issues will be addressed by the NCAA Executive Committee at its August 6 meeting.

The NCAA now has 321 staff positions. Of that number, 95 were on the staff when the decision to move to Indianapolis was announced in May 1997. Another 68 people hired between June 1, 1997, and December 31, 1998, are moving to Indianapolis.

In addition, another 108 employees have been hired since January 1, 1999. Of the new employees, 103 are from Indianapolis.

The staff is being moved in two "waves." The first wave, which started work at the new office July 27 (an orientation took place July 26), includes enforcement and student-athlete reinstatement, finance and information services, human resources, membership services, and public affairs.

The second wave will start in Indianapolis August 3 and includes championships; education services; executive; governance; marketing, licensing and promotions; the NCAA Foundation; and WorldTek Travel.

In all, more than 8,000 boxes of staff materials, supplies and other items will be shipped from Overland Park to Indianapolis.

While the second, third and fourth floors of the building will be essentially complete upon the staff's arrival, work will continue on the first floor, which features most of the expanded meeting areas.

"When you look at the outside of the national office building, it doesn't appear that this is a facility ready for occupancy," Dempsey said. "But the office space is nearly complete, the furniture and supplies are being moved in, our staff is in the process of moving to Indianapolis, and we're excited about getting underway."

When the first floor is complete, the membership will be able to use the new facility to the fullest.

The new conference center will provide the opportunity for committees to meet routinely in Indianapolis, resulting in annual savings estimated at $450,000 to $500,000. Committees will be asked to conduct half of their meetings in Indianapolis.

In addition, the wealth of high-quality championship sites in and near Indianapolis is expected to result in reduced administrative costs.

The NCAA's partnership with Indianapolis will be reflected in many ways, including outreach programs and business relationships. The staff will work with a Citizenship Through Sports Alliance program to reach fourth- through eighth-graders throughout the city.

As for the business relationships, the NCAA already identified a number of preferred vendors, including National City and Bank One for banking services, Sport Graphics for printing services, JF Molloy & Associates as benefits administrator, and REI Real Estate Services for facilities management.

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